A land of milk and honey

Sunday

Apr 28, 2013 at 4:00 AM

Tom OrrRidge Lines

I answer the call to discover Henderson County. Today, according to historian Frank L. FitzSimons Sr., I will walk "on hallowed soil." I drive out Highway 64 East until I get to Howard Gap Road, where I turn left and travel to Zeb Corn Road, then follow that road until I reach North Clear Creek. I turn right and go about half a mile. I spot a sign to my left — "Love Cemetery." I turn my vehicle onto a dirt pathway that leads to a pasture-like field where there is a small, fenced-in cemetery. It is modest — but impressive. I am looking for the grave of Matthew N. Love. Love was in the 25th N.C. Regiment CSA. In 1863, he was given a captain's commission. Later he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Promotions were made for his gallantry on the battlefield. Twice wounded, Love rendered four years of service, which must surely rank among history's most courageous.The Love family grew up in the Clear Creek Community. Robert and Eliza Love had five sons who all volunteered and enlisted in support of the Confederate cause. Their names: Matthew, Robert, Ervin, George and Wesley. A recent Love family reunion included the participation of Civil War re-enactors who shared their knowledge of actions rendered by members of the 25th Regiment, including Matthew Love. Mrs. Joe Poole (Becky), who once served as curator for the Heritage Museum, helped organize the reunion. Her husband is a Love family descendent. Becky has offered to share her knowledge of the history of the Love cemetery.I also plan to talk at length with Drew Brannon and John Love. Both have additional information about family history. Perhaps I will be able to access Col. Love's archived letters written during the war years. I am also interested in his service as a schoolteacher. I stand at the cemetery. All the pieces await a time when some new connection can give them wholeness.From the Love cemetery, I resume travel on Clear Creek Road to Lanning Road and on to Fruitland. Along the way, I pass the Lanning-Pittillo cemetery. I am making my way to Edneyville. I reach Mills Gap Road and travel that historic road until I reach Highway 64 East, turn left, and soon come to the N.C. Justice Academy, the former Edneyville High School. A major ceremony will take place there next Sunday, May 5, from 2-4 p.m. Recognition of Edneyville's place in the history of Henderson County education will be made. The Education Initiative hopes to capture the history of not only the historic high school but also of each of the "feeder" schools. North Henderson replaced Edneyville High School in 1993. The committee seeks ways to make school histories accessible. One of the objectives is to collect as much history as possible. The placement of a commemorative marker will highlight the celebration. I stand where the celebration will take place.The event planned for next Sunday is much like a reunion. Former students and friends are invited to meet for a special get-together. Molly Oates Sherrill, one of the event planners, has given me research completed on feeder schools Middle Fork, Point Lookout, Fruitland, Ebenezer, Lake Lure, Bat Cave, the Little Red School House, Hickory School. I find the research fascinating. Memory connects the fragments stored somewhere deep inside. I read the remembrances of Jo Edna Pryor: "I started school at Bat Cave when I was 5. Mother and the older ones had already taught me to read and write. "The curves on the road going to Middle Fork were very sharp and steep. When the road was icy or even very muddy, children had to get off the school bus and walk around the curve. … "My high school years were war years, so there were no extra activities. The Pryor family have a book of family stories named ‘From the Land of Milk and Honey.' "When Dan was graduating from Edneyville, the commencement speaker was Dr. Phillip Elliott, who later became president of Gardner-Webb College. For some reason, he spent the night at our house and at breakfast, which certainly included hot biscuits, honey and butter. He said to Papa, ‘You are the richest man I know with your 12 healthy children … and you truly live in a land of milk and honey.' "Milk and honey were two things we always had and had enough to share."

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